love at long last
by kristina.powell.9548
Summary: at the end of "the pain in the heart", Zach is found to be the Gormogon's apprentice, and after this discovery, Zach and Booth also have very shocking discoveries about their own feelings for each other.


Love at long last

chapter one

Description: this is my version of Bones involving the love between Booth and Zach. This story is as cannon as I can make it and is also my first attempt at fanfiction, so please be gentle but I would love reviews, not flames. The story begins at the end of "The pain in the heart" Zach was the apprentice and goes into the asylum, the only real change I make it the person that Booth falls for and a couple of other pairings I'm thinking of along the way that I love in other stories and would love to expand on.

Disclaimer: obviously I have not legal rights to Bones or any of the characters, this is for my pleasure and your enjoyment, I hope, and should not be taken to be my own original idea.

Zach

I woke from a strange dream in which I was being chased by a wolf; the wolf was hungry and it wanted my help, but who wants to help a wolf kill their best friend? I had to protect Hodgins from the wolf, and I couldn't let the wolf near the cabin where my love was safe and ignorant. When I woke, it was to find Dr. Camille Saroyan beside my bed, offering to read to me. She is very confused by my choice of a calculus book.

"A calculus book really?"

"Yes, I love the math; it invigorates my intellect and provides me a problem to solve."

"Well alright."

Sometime later, Dr. Brennen and Agent Booth came into my room looking very forlorn. Dr. Brennen looks saddened which is the first signal that something is not going in my favor, that my friends have discovered what I have done. I am aware of the irrationality of my thoughts, but I feel shame and regret for what I have done. But then when my eyes find Agent Booth, who looks devastated and angry. Very angry. His reactions confuse me and delight me at the same time. I had long held an above average attraction towards Seeley Booth, although up until recently, my feelings have been well guarded even from myself. My dream, however, comes back to me in graphic detail.

_ I'm sleeping peacefully in the arms of my lover, his voice lulling me into a calm sleep, my heart full of love. He leans forward to kiss me, whispering his love in my ear, when we both hear the sinister howl of a wolf._

While I am attempting to process this shift in my feelings, I look at Dr. Brennen and ask "So you found the mandible"

"You had to know that I would." Dr. Brenne looked both sad and proud, as if she was almost impressed that I had almost fooled her.

I think that some part of me must have known, even wanted her to catch me, but consciously I had never even considered that anyone would think to look at the mandible. Even as I attempted to explain my actions to Dr. Brennen , I came to realize that although the Master had managed to convince me of his intent and logic, it was not truly my own thoughts and convictions that had driven me to do what I did. My reasons behind my apprenticeship to the Master were unraveling before me, being replaced by a new logic, one where maybe I was mistaken and people mattered more than I thought. I realized that I would never sacrifice those that I love, not even for a great cause, and the Masters cause was not great. It felt as if I had come out of a fog so dense that I could not even see myself, let alone anything else around me. When my eyes and mind began to clear, the first thing I saw was him.

To my shock I had grown to love not only my friends , my mentor, and my coworkers, but also Agent Booth. I had fallen in love with the man arresting me.

Booth

In all the time that Bones and I have worked together, I have never been more wrong. Hodgins or even Sweets I could believe being the Gormogon or his Apprentice. Hell, even Bones I could believe, but not Zach. Not sweet, naïve, bluntly honest Zach Addy. But evidence doesn't lie, and it seems Zach is a killer, possibly even a cannibal. When we go into Zach's hospital room, Zach looks first to Bones than to me. When his eyes land on me there's a look of such pain and fear and something that kinda reminds me of wanting, and I swear I feel it in my soul. And I mean , yeah the little squint had always made me a little uncomfortable, sometimes more than a little, but right at that moment, my discomfort was for a whole new reason.

The emotions that flowed through me at that moment were complex and confusing to me, and as a former sniper it took a lot to unnerve me. I feel so angry, sure, but my anger wasn't just because of the effect that this was having on Bones, or even the righteous anger I feel towards serial killers. I just feel so utterly betrayed, so hurt and heartbroken. As I listened to him explain his "logic" to Bones, most of my drained to be replaced by sympathy and some other emotion that I couldn't name. I realized that this kid wasn't a monster, he was just a victim to a hyper rational brain that didn't know how to process the things that his "Master" was telling him, and the real monster used this adherence to logic against him because he knew what buttons to push. Without anyone strong to countermand what he was being told, how was he supposed to know any different? Maybe that was why I was feeling like this, this irrational anger and hurt, and also the need to hold and comfort him, apologize and reassure him, and run my fingers through his hair. 'I must be feeling guilt.'

Later, after the swat team led by me raided the Masters house with the information that a quietly weeping Zach gave us (how those tears tore me apart) and killed the bastard that did this to the small, sweet squint, the whole gang gathered around Zach's hospital room to hear the verdict for Caroline about what would come of Zach. When Caroline said that Zach had agreed to plead incompetent due to mental insanity, I felt such relief. He would be safe in a mental institute instead of a federal prison. 'Thank God, he'll be safe, and no one can hurt him. Of course, then Sweets had to open his big mouth.

"But he's not insane."

Like hell was he going to convince anyone that Zach deserved to be in prison, that boy wouldn't last there. So I dragged him off to the side, and instead of telling him what I was really thinking, I told him

"You are going to give this one to Bones, do you understand."

"Yeah, I got it" he told me and we went back to join the group.

Zach's sentencing was very difficult for the team. As he stood in front of a judge, trying to explain his reasons for killing a man and aiding a serial killer cannibal, Bone and I both teared up, feeling bad for their poor teammate. When the judge accepted his plea agreement, Bones cried openly on my shoulder, showing real emotion for I think the first time since our partnership started, and I came to a very shocking realization. I was really going to miss my little squint.


End file.
